Everyone loves ice cream (and gelato), however, the definition of what ice cream is or what would be relative equivalents might differ in the eyes of Koreans. Since 2013, sales of ice cream market size has decreased from 1.6 Billion USD to 910.9 million USD due to increased competition from shaved ice stores, juice shops and cafes. All these sell what would be considered "ice cream equivalents." Subsequently, sales of ice cream have suffered as well dropping from 850 million USD in 2014 to 810 million USD in 2016 (Food Industry Statistics, Nielsen Korea).

However, ice cream is not suffering an irreversible downtrend. The largest competitor for the last few years have been the popularity of the snow shaved ice chain Sulbing. In 2013 they had only 33 stores in Korea but in 2014 this number exploded to 482 in 2014. However in 2015 they only added 8 more stores (Joeilbo News). I have personally seen a number of these stores close in the last year in prominent areas. In contrast, Ice Cream stores have been increasing. Baskin Robbins, the market leader, increased their number of franchises from 1106 in 2014 to 1208 in 2015 (The Bell News). So the market for ice cream has grown but the definition of ice cream equivalents has increased greatly.

Ice Cream in Korea

soft serve in Korea

The ice cream market might have suffered in sales, but this forced them to innovate and find new markets for their products. Ice cream makers created trendy flavors such as banana and salted caramel, which were niche flavors last year. They also partnered with popular brands like malang milk candy to create new, fun ice creams (Yonhap, Wikitree). Common brands like Binggrae are moving into the premium ice cream market by establishing new brands like “Cledor” (Herald K).

Premium soft ice cream using organic milk has also had a comeback in the last year as brands like “Pasteur Milk Bar by milk company Pasteur,” “Soft Lab” by Binggrae and Baekmidang have usurped Softree which was a popular brand about 3 years ago (Sisaon News).

The ice cream hit of 2017 was a traditional shaved ice topped with a sweetened tomato sauce and black pepper. The company Tokyo Bingsu that came up with the dish is slowly franchising but not at the level of Sulbing. They are constantly coming up with new flavors such as pumpkin, green tea and white grape. Softserve ice cream shops are creating new flavors and designs to make “Instagram-worthy” desserts.

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For a society whose staple food is rice, the consumption of bread has grown exponentially in the last 25 years. The leading bakery corporation, the SPC group has seen their Paris Baguette franchises grow from 3 in 1988 to 1400 in 2005 to 3316 in 2015 (Hankyung News 2015). The per person consumption of flour foods has dramatically increased from 11.5 kg per person per year in 1965 to 33.7 kg per person per year in 2015 (avg. 32.8 kg). While in the past flour was mainly used for noodles, batters and dumplings; these days bread and pastries have become increasingly popular.

In 2015-2016, it has been all about the full-fat, cream filled breads. This started from the “kopan” bread which is a red bean and cream filled sweet roll. This style of rich cream has since moved to choux, donuts and rolled cakes. Koreans tend to like more of a less-sweet, milk-taste cream but currently green tea flavor has come back into fad. Also, the cream craze has since grown to include custard-filled (regular, caramel, banana and other fruit flavored) cakes and breads.

On the bread front, the buzzword has been “natural yeast, liquid yeast, artisanal, and sourdough.” Consumers are eating up the idea of healthy yeast and naturally fermented breads and terms like “slow rise” and “56 hour” have been making their way into the marketing lexicon. Small artisanal bread makers like “Paul and Paulina” and “Bob’s Bread” have been able to compete against big chains via their wholesome, natural and handmade image.

For other bread products, bagels have made a comeback and can be seen at many major chains now along with many different savory and sweet cream cheese spreads. English Muffins have become mainstream. “Rice bread” is still around but still a niche product since the medicinal benefits are hard to justify to Koreans.

The surprise hit last season was soft castella breads from Taiwan which have long lines of people waiting for them. Lines form 15-30 minutes before the sale and once they are gone, it is gone. I have seen lines 50-100 people deep but now it is around half that since they have opened more locations and there are copycat stores. Also, the 100% increase in egg prices due to the AI flu and other issues swiftly killed this trend.

On the flavor-front for pastries and breads it has been cheese, bacon, blueberries, bananas, coconut, and green tea. Strawberries and red bean are still quite popular as well.

In Korea, trends and tastes are fickle but all indications show that Koreans want high quality artisan products at a reasonable price. They aren't so different from the rest of the world are they?

About me

Daniel Gray is a Korean-American Adoptee that returned to Korea in 2005 to rediscover his roots. He is a Korean food expert that has appeared on Bizarre Foods, Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain and more. He does food tours, events, and consulting in Seoul and owns two restaurants: Brew 3.14 and Brew 3.15 in Seoul.